Q by Heather: I’d like to get your take on “cowlicks”.  I have hair that looks very similar to yours, maybe a little thinner, and I have HUGE issues with the whorl at my crown.  It’s fine when I wear it curly, but when I go straight it seems that no matter how I blowdry or tease, after a very short time you can see my hair start to split in the back….it drives me nuts!  I end up having to wash my hair way more often than I’d like because it’s the only way I can get it under control after sleeping on it.  Any suggestions?

A by Reagan: Heather, you’re on the right track! There are a few tricks to dealing with cowlicks that I have found very helpful. The first trick is to leave the hair in that area a little longer. You don’t want to be cutting short layers or fringes where there are cowlicks. The extra length with help weigh down the hair, making it more manageable. My next tip is to comb and blow dry that area first, while the hair is still quite wet. Make sure you are blow drying against the grain of the hair, this will help to manipulate that little tuft to lay down a little more. My final tip, is instead of shampooing your whole head in the morning just spray down that area and start over. My favorite blow dryer is the Twin Turbo, give that a shot. They range from $90-$150 on Amazon. And for the millionth time, use a nozzle!!

Cowlicks are such needy little things, right? They love all the attention like that one girl from highschool! haha. Good luck!

Hello, it is Jake guest posting today. This month Wired Magazine reviewed four “high tech” blowdryers. Naturally, I was curious to read the “Wired” and “Tired” aspects of the four models reviewed. I say this, because it seems like I am constantly repairing one of Reagan’s blow dryers. Before reading this review, I was unaware things like: blow dryers are rated for a certain number of hours of use; and some blow dryers come with two year warranties that cover “everything.” I was also glad that Wired remarked on the results of the drop test. Heaven knows I have spent many hours realigning the motors in Reagan’s Twin Turbos after they had been knocked off of her hair station onto the floor.

One of the dryers reviewed by Wired actually contains a motor built by Ferrari. Yes, Ferrari the Italian super car company. Try to guess which one, from the image above (hint, the bright red one with the little Italian flag on it).

Read the full review over here. If you are curious about Reagan’s personal recommendations, be sure to check out her hair answer, about blow dryers.

[Image: Wired Magazine]

I wanted to quickly write about flat irons again. A lot of people are wondering about how to prevent damage from flat ironing. Many of my clients are surprised to find out that you aren’t really supposed to use a flat iron to straighten the hair. Flat irons are a finishing tool. Your hair is supposed to have already been blow dried straight, and just smoothed over with a flat iron. Going over and over the same section with an iron is going to torch anybody’s hair, it’s just not what they are made for!

Here is my best advise for someone who wants the straight look:

After showering, towel dry your hair. Put a protective product in it like a leave in conditioner, a protein spray, or a straightening syrem. If you’re not in a rush, let your hair air dry until it’s about 80% dry, or as close to that as possible.  Then blow dry sections of your hair using a flat brush to get it straight. Using a blow dryer with a nozzle will help it get more smooth and straight. Please try your hardest not to touch your hair with the point of the blow dryer. It is so bad for your hair, and it will burn your brush I admit, sometimes I do it on accident myself when the hair isn’t staying on the brush, as a reaction, but try to avoid this. We are trying to prevent damage, k?

After my hair is blow dried, I assess whether it needs flat ironing or not. Which is usually not. My hair is naturally wavy/curly so of course it doesn’t take the amount of work to straighten that some people’s hair needs. Also, I have loads of experience with blow drying every hair type, and if you’re not able to get it at first, you shouldn’t feel bad. It’s a skill that you have to work hard for!

I use my flait iron for making curls more than anything else. It might also be because I like big-full hair! Big like Dolly.

Ok, did we learn something today? What tips have you learned for blow drying your own hair? Would you guys like a blow drying tutorial?

Q by Melissa: So I’m totally with you on not washing–sorry–shampooing my hair every day, but I don’t have awesome big wavy hair. I have very small straight hair, and frankly two days is really pushing it. On day two I pretty much have to ponytail or braid it because it’s too stringy to be decent. Is there any way to extend the time between shampoos if your hair is super straight and thin?

A by Reagan: As you know, with fine, small hair (btw I love you for calling it small) you can’t get away with as much. The best thing for you is to get regular trims to avoid stringy ends. You want to avoid a hair cut with too many (if any) layers or face framing. Try out bangs to give you some style (see? Bang pusher!), and use products to trick the rest of the world of your fine hair. Volumizing mousses, root lift and really REALLY rinse out your conditioner.

Back to your real question…use a dry shampoo if your hair gets oily on the top. Once I worked on a runway show where I learned that dry shampoo is actually a great volumizing technique. We sprayed it in already clean hair to give it extra grip. If you haven’t noticed, I love dry shampoo with every bone that I’ve ever heard of.

Since your hair gets stringy, My best suggestion would be to play with the ponies and braids that you do. Do something interesting so that you aren’t feeling like you didn’t do your hair that day. Isn’t the picture above gorgeous? Do something like that Melissa! What are you waiting for? Sorry if I’m yelling. I just feel like I need to stick up for pony tails (or us girls with short hair who have Panda tails). I think pony tails, braids and buns can be a beautiful, sleek style and not just what happened because we’re rushing out the door. Also, I don’t know if you have bangs but if you don’t, you should get them. Bangs make a pony tail especially cute.

If you insist on wearing your hair down (which I’m not judging you for if you do), just doing a quick once over with your blow dryer and round brush to freshen it up.

My number one recommendation to fineys is to get a regular trim.

Q by Lea: Reagan, I love your blogs, and your hair. I have wavy hair that’s just past my shoulders (similar to yours) which I like to wear natural. I know how to style it with a diffuser to wear it curly. My problem is that I prefer to *wash and style my hair at night (mornings are way too hectic), but sleeping on it flattens my hair and makes it frizzy. Is there a way to keep a naturally wavy style overnight so I don’t have to wash it every morning?

A by Reagan: This is a tough question. It is so hard to change your routine when you are used to it. But after I have just answered a question about wearing a hairstyle for multiple days, I am wondering why you *shampoo every day? It would really cut out on time, effort and product if you started to stretch your style out longer. You’ll be a changed woman. Quote me on that!

Your question is actually in a way very similar to Julie’s, even though I think I got your question first! I would recommend that if you absolutely prefer 100% to *shampoo your hair at night, then you should just do a 5-10 minute touch up in the morning. The same way I suggested to Julie, i.e. spray with a little water, use a little product, do a little scrunching, maybe a little defusing..voila! It works for me, and I am a crazy sleeper. I don’t know what I do in the night, but I have wanted to video myself sleeping just to get some lifelong questions answered about what goes on there….

I so hope this works for you, because I am not about to tell you to change up your beloved routine. I lift weights every morning at 7 am while I watch re-runs of saved by the bell. Nobody in the world could convince me to change that.

Love,

Reagan. Your neighborhood hairdresser on fire.

*We wash dishes and shampoo hair

Q by Maggie: Which is a better hairdryer: Chi or Wigo? Mo is in the market and I find that I like both.  We need professional input! And does the Ion thing really mean anything?

A by Reagan: Great question coming from a great friend (awww). Ok, to start off, I am not personally very familiar with Wigo. It is one of those knock-off proffessional brands. Like Babyliss is a knock-off of T3, Wigo is a knock off of Chi. I would go with a Chi. Even though I have never used a Chi blow dryer myself, I have friend stylists who have. You would probably be ok using either, since (unlike me) you wont likely be running your blow dryer for up to 8 hours a day. I can burn through a motor pretty quickly. For me, my two favorite blow dryers are FHI and the Twin Turbo. Jake and I call it the Twin TurBLOW, get it? Also, I like the twin turbo because the names of their dryers are like Turbo Power Mega 4000 (Literally). That probably turns people off because you might be like “I’d like to buy a blow dryer, not a super soaker.”, but the name doesn’t take away the fact that it is an amazing tool. In a long round about way, you’d probably be ok with a “knock off”, but I would still go with the more expensive, hotter, more powerful and glamorous blow dryer. In my experience with blow dryers, more money almost always means better. EXCEPT FOR T3. Some people swear by T3, but for me, it is just not enough power. It is the hottest blow dryer (and lightweight) I have ever used, but like I said, the air flow is just too wimpy. That was way more of an answer than you asked for, my dear mags. Sorry.

Ionic. Ionic is no balogna. The Ions break up the water molecules in your hair so it dries faster and smoother with less damage. Period. Can’t argue with Ions, right? I wouldn’t want to.

I almost forgot! A nozzle on your blow dryer is vital! I never leave home without it!

PS I am soooo behind on this blog. I think I have a hundred questions to answer. Be patient, because I looooove this blog so much and I want to keep it up, it is just hard to get to for some reason. I have some big ideas for this baby. Just you wait my little hairies!